


One-Shots

by awk



Category: Women's Soccer RPF
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-01-02
Updated: 2015-03-30
Packaged: 2018-03-05 00:39:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 9,891
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3098486
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/awk/pseuds/awk
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A collection of random one-shots.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Ali/Ash - Wedding Fun

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first stab at writing fan fic. There are so many incredible writers here and you've all inspired me to write my own so I hope y'all enjoy. I've got a couple more one-shot ideas I could write up so I may add to this if you guys like it. Let me know what you think!

Many members of the USWNT had travelled to California to attend Alex Morgan's wedding. Upon finishing dinner at the reception, everyone was off either mingling or busting a move on the dance floor. Getting a rare moment alone, Ashlyn decides to head to the bar to get herself another drink. When she finally receives her drink from the bartender, she turns around and takes a sip from her drink before heading back to join her group of friends.

As she starts heading back, a woman sitting at a table across the banquet hall catches her eye and she heads in the direction of this woman instead. Ashlyn Harris never passes up an opportunity to try her luck with a pretty lady but she hopes she doesn't catch the attention of her teammates, knowing they'd give her shit about it afterwards if they saw. Despite the potential consequences, the liquid encouragement convinces her that this is in fact, a good idea.  She especially couldn't pass up this chance when she was dressed in her best three piece suit and favourite bowtie, looking as sharp as ever.

"What's a gorgeous lady like you doing sitting all by yourself?" Ashlyn asks in her most charming voice as she approaches the woman and takes the empty seat next to her.

"I'm just waiting for my date to return," the woman replies, trying hard not to give Ashlyn the time of day.

"Your date should know better than to leave you alone, especially in that killer dress."

That gets a smile out of the woman, "Well aren't you just the charmer. Didn't you come here with a date of your own? That Ali Krieger?"

"Don't worry, she's pretty understanding," Ashlyn replies with a wink and goes to put her hand on the woman's thigh.

"From what I hear, she can be a real bitch."

"Well then, we better act fast before she catches us."

"And what would we be doing that you wouldn't want her seeing?" the woman asks, starting to show more interest in the conversation with Ashlyn.

Ashlyn smirks, noticing the change in mood of their conversation. "Let me show you."

The blonde puts her free hand on the back of the woman's neck and looks down at her lips before closing her eyes and leaning in. She is startled when she feels two fingers against her lips, stopping her from leaning any further. The blonde opens her eyes again with a look of confusion.

"No," the woman simply states.

"No?"

The woman removes Ash's hand that's around the back of her neck. She then leans in until she is right next to Ash's ear, and whispers, "No. You've got to try harder than that if you're trying to make a move on me."

The woman gets up from her seat and walks away, leaving Ashlyn alone at the table. Ash can't help but smile a little because although she was just rejected, she couldn't help but notice the subtle seductive tone laced with that rejection.

 

"Wow, is Ash really trying that again? I thought she was over it," Kelley asks Tobin, shaking her head as they watch Ash from across the hall.

"Apparently not. You can never really tell her with."

"How many times has it been?"

"I think that's number 25."

"And she's struck out every single time, hasn't she? You would think that the Ashlyn Harris would have more game than that. How did she ever win Ali over in the first place?"

"You don't remember? It was Ali who asked Ash out! Why do you think Ash tries so hard to prove herself every single time?" Tobin replies with a chuckle.

"Oh yeah! And she should really know better. I really don't know how Ali puts up with Ash's crazy antics after all these years."

"Since when does Ash ever know better?" They share a laugh as they watch their friend get up from her seat to follow the woman before Kelley makes her way towards them.

 

"I'm sorry, is my friend giving you a hard time? Please forgive her, she's not the best with her words," Kelley shoots Ash a look before turning her attention back the woman.

"It's quite alright, I'm sure she had good intentions," the woman replies with a smile.

"Can I make it up to you with a dance?" Kelley asks, offering her hand to take.

"I'd love to!", she replies, taking Kelley's hand. Kelley does a quick celebratory fist pump with her free hand.

Ash is absolutely shock at what she is seeing in front of her. She cannot believe she's lost to Kelley O'Hara, again.

"Babeeeeeeeeeee. That's not even fair! You say yes to Kelley every time!" Ash whines, finally breaking her act and giving her best pouty face.

"What can I say, Harris? Kelley just has more game than you," Ali sticks her tongue out towards her girlfriend before she and Kelley turn to head towards the dance floor.

Ash stands there for a couple seconds, shaking her head but smiling at herself. For as long as they've been dating, Ash has never failed to try to pick up her own girlfriend while they were out and for as long as they've been dating, Ali has never failed to reject Ash's attempts every time. It was all in good fun though and Ali couldn't help but laugh at all of Ash's ridiculous attempts throughout the years.

 

"You know Ali is never going to say yes to your sad pick up attempts right?", Tobin asks her blonde friend as she approaches her. She's still laughing at her friends' actions, something she's seen so many times before. "You are so lucky to be a taken woman because Ali decided to ask you out, all those years back."

"In the name of love, baby! Ya can't blame a gal for trying. And whatever, I'm building up to it. She ain't seen nothing yet," Ash replies with a confident smile.

"You've been building up to it for 5 years?"

"Shut up, Tobs."

"One day. One day I'll come up with something so irresistible she'll have no other choice but to say yes. But for now, I'll have to win her back with this hot bod and irresistible dance moves," Ashlyn adds, gesturing at herself before chasing after Ali and Kelley, determined to win back her girlfriend on the dance floor.


	2. Ali/Ash - Bus Buddies

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you everyone for the positive feedback! I greatly appreciate it.

It was the day of the finals of the International Tournament of Brasilia and the USWNT was excited for a rematch against Brazil after losing 2-3 in their second match of the tournament. The team was in the middle of boarding the coach bus that had just returned back to the hotel to pick up the players. The players on the "injured list" who were not cleared to play in the finals had taken the coach bus earlier that morning to a nearby practice field for a light field practice before the finals. At the end of practice, the coach bus brought the players back to the hotel to pick up the rest of the team before heading to the stadium.  
  
As Ali boarded the bus, she saw that Alex Morgan was already in her seat.  
  
"Alex, you know I love you, but you're in my seat."  
  
"But I wanted to sit next to Harris!" Alex protested, mostly as a joke.  
  
"C'mon! You know I have to sit next to Ash on game day! It's our pre-game ritual."  
  
"Okay, okay, you can have your seat back." Alex gets out of her seat and moves to the row of seats behind them. Syd promptly takes the seat next to her.  
  
Once Alex has moved to the next row back, Ali takes the window seat next to Ash and gives her girlfriend a big smile.  
  
"I've never understood their pre-game ritual, there's nothing ritual about it other than sitting together!" Alex goes to exclaim to Syd.  
  
"I know, I don't get it either. Maybe it's a couple's thing." Syd replies to her friend with a shrug.  
  
Alex was right, there really wasn't anything ritual about Ash and Ali's pre-game ritual. Sometimes they would listen to music on their respective iPods. Sometimes they would talk to each other about random things. Sometimes they would talk to their other teammates sitting around them. Sometimes Ali would read a book on her iPad while Ash played phone games. The only constant to their pre-game ritual was that Ali always took the window seat, she had to sit next to Ash, and at some point during the ride, they would hold hands, but that was something they did on a regular bases anyway. Whenever their teammates asked them about their pre-game ritual and why they had to sit together, they would always brush it off and say something along the lines of "it was just a thing they had to do."  
  
"How was practice this morning babe?" Ali asks the keeper once they were seated.  
  
"Really good. My pinky didn't really bother me all practice either so I think I'm almost 100%."  
  
"That's great! I can't wait 'til you can start playing again. Good luck kiss for the game?"  
  
"Good luck kiss for the game."  Ashlyn leans in to give her girlfriend a quick kiss and takes her hand to hold before the two settle into their seats for the ride.  
  
\---  
  
FLASHBACK - 2003, U-19  
  
_It was one of the U-19 team's biggest camps of the year and Ashlyn was excited. It was the day of their friendly match against Canada after 5 days of intense training. 27 players were called up to this camp and there were several new faces called up so the 5 days of training before the match were focused on game execution and getting the players familiar with playing with one another._  
  
_Ash was the last to board the coach bus that was taking them to the game. She walks through the bus and doesn't find an empty seat until she reaches the very back of the bus and gets settled into the seat in the last row, next to one of the team's defenders. Ashlyn is pretty sure the girl next to her is one of the new call ups to the team since she was not one of the regular faces she's seen in the past couple camps. She does remember that the defender's name is Ali though from playing on the same team as her several times during the scrimmages of their practices._  
  
_Ali was looking out the window as Ash took the seat next to her. "It's Ali right? I'm Ashlyn Harris," Ash says, while offering her hand to shake. She feels the need for introductions since they've never really spoken to each other before off the field._  
  
_The defender turns and gives the the keeper a small smile, "Yes, it's Ali, Ali Krieger. And you had quite the save yesterday in practice." She shakes Ash's out-reached hand before turning back to continue looking out the window._  
  
_"Thanks! So are you excited for today's game? Congrats on getting the start by the way, and if I'm not mistaken, at your first camp too! That's quite the accomplishment, but totally deserved."_  
  
_"Thanks, and yeah, pretty excited," Ali replies, sounding anything but. She didn't even look away from the window when she replied._  
  
_Ash was trying hard to keep the conversation going with Ali but Ali seemed uninterested. Ashlyn wasn't too sure why the conversation was so one-sided, she had seen Ali during camp a couple times from a distance and she always seemed friendly to everyone around her. Ash didn't think too much of it though, and decided to drop the conversation if Ali didn't feel like talking. She put in her headphones to listen to some music for the rest of the ride._  
  
_About 10 minutes into the bus ride, Ash notices Ali excessively bouncing her knee out of the corner of her eye. When Ash looks over, she sees Ali leaning against the window with her face buried in her hand. It isn't until Ash removes her headphones that she hears Ali quietly sobbing. She's trying hard to make sure the rest of the team can't hear her but it's obvious to Ash, sitting right next to the defender._  
  
_"Hey, are you okay?" Ash asks quietly in concern so that she doesn't draw the attention of the rest of their teammates._  
  
_"I'm fine. It's stupid," Ali answers between her sobs._  
  
_"Hey, come here. It's not stupid if it's upsetting you. Whatever it is, you can tell me." Ashlyn leans over and puts her arm around the brunette to try to provide her with comfort._  
  
_Ali barely knows this teammate sitting next to her but she instantly feels a calming sensation when she feels the keeper put an arm around her. She couldn't understand how the keeper she barely knows has this effect on her but she accepts the comfort the keeper was offering her. She leans over and buries her face in the keeper's shoulder and decides to open up to her._  
  
_"Game days have always made me so nervous," Ali tries to get out between sniffles. "I've always been able to push through at the club level but this is different. This is the national team and it's such a big deal."_  
  
_Ali was expecting Ash to laugh at her predicament. Who gets this upset before games? Especially when you're playing at the national level. Even Ali thought she sounded ridiculous. It was something Ali was always embarrassed about and she had never told anyone about the severity of her pre-game jitters. Once the game got going, Ali was completely focused and unfazed, but she was always a mess during the ride to the games. It gave her time to think about all the different ways the game could go wrong. She had no idea why she did this before every game but she couldn't help it._  
  
_The feeling of safety in the keeper's arm had convinced Ali to open up to her. When Ali was sure Ash wasn't going to laugh in her face, she continued to try to explain herself._  
  
_"I'm just so scared. What if I screw up? What if the other team scores because I read a play wrong? What if I accidentally score an own goal? So many things could go wrong!"_  
  
_Ash was taking in everything Ali was telling her. She can't say she can relate to the defender. Ashlyn Harris never got nervous before games. She was always super excited and had ample amounts of adrenaline running through her body on game days. She wasn't entirely sure what she suppose to do in this situation to comfort her teammate but she decided to speak from the heart, hoping Ali would see herself from a different perspective._  
  
_"From what I've seen in training, you have nothing to be worried about! You saved my ass sooo many times during practice yesterday. If I'm being completely honest, you're one of the best defenders I've ever played with and I've seen some pretty good ones on this team. I can see why coach is giving you the start at your first camp. I wouldn't want anyone else playing in front of me on the back line."_  
  
_Ali stops sobbing while she takes in what Ash says and looks up at the keeper. She hears the sincerity in the keeper's tone and it further comforts her. "You really mean that?"_  
  
_"I do. And at the end of the day, it's just a game, whether it be practice, or a club game, or a school game, or a national team game. You've gone through the plays hundreds of times in practice. You just have to do what you know and we'll be more than okay."_  
  
_Ash feels Ali nod against her shoulder but she can see that Ali is still quite upset. Ash decides to try something else. She gives the defender a sideways hug before removing her arm from around the defender and reaching into her backpack._  
  
_"I brought my portable DVD player and my favourite movie. Do you want to watch with me and maybe take your mind off the game for a bit?" Ash offers one side of her headphones to Ali._  
  
_"I guess it's worth a try, thanks."_  
  
_Ali recognizes the movie within the first 5 minutes of the opening scene and giggles. "Your favourite movie is Finding Nemo?"_  
  
_"Hey! Don't hate. I love this movie!"_  
  
_"I'm not hating, I love this movie too. I just think it's adorable that it's your favourite movie."_  
  
_The blonde sticks her tongue out at the brunette before returning her attention back to the movie. Ali places her head back on the keeper's shoulder as she watches along and Ash reaches to take Ali's hand in her own. Ali smiles at the small gesture of comfort and gives Ash's hand a gentle squeeze._  
  
_Ali found herself watching the blonde recite all the lines to the movie instead of the movie itself and was trying hard not to laugh too loud and disturb everyone else. Ali was so preoccupied with the keeper's ridiculousness she forgot about the game until the bus was pulling into the parking lot._  
  
_As the bus comes to a stop, Ashlyn goes to put her portable DVD player away and starts to get up out of her seat when she feels Ali tap her on the shoulder. As she turns to face the defender, she is wrapped in a big hug, which the blonde quickly returns._  
  
_"Thank you for comforting me. I don't know what I would have done in that hour long bus ride without you," Ali tells Ash as they pull apart from their hug._  
  
_"Don't mention it. That's what friends are for!" Ashlyn replies with a big smile. "Now let's go out there and kick some butt. And remember that I've always got your back out there!"_  
  
\---  
  
Before every game, Ali can't help but to think back to that day she met Ash and Ash successfully distracted her from her game day nerves. That was the start of their friendship which would then turn into a romantic relationship throughout the years. From that day on, Ali always sat next to Ash on game days and Ash would come up with different ways to help Ali keep her mind off the game on the bus ride over. When Ash wasn't on the team, Ash did whatever she could to clear her schedule so that she was free to constantly text Ali while she was on the bus. Slowly but surely, Ali got over her pre-game nerves and grew to be one of the best right-backs of women's soccer.  
  
Nowadays, Ali no longer needed Ash to go out of her way to distract her before games but they continued their pre-game tradition of sitting next to each other before every game. This was only one of the many ways they shared a special bond that no one else will understand. Even Ash will never truly understand the impact she's had on Ali's game, not just on the field as teammates, but off the field as her support system, but Ali will forever be appreciative of her best friend and girlfriend.


	3. Ella/Erin - The Hike

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Inspired by the tweets/pics of their hike back in September.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you again everyone for read and leaving comments. Y'all are truly awesome.
> 
> Decided to change it up this time and do a McMasar one this time.

"Babeeeeeeeeeee! It's so hot!" Ella whined to her girlfriend.  
  
Since moving back to Vancouver, Erin wanted to show her American girlfriend all the places that made this city so great, and a hike up Whistler was at the top of the list. They were about halfway up the hike and Erin couldn't help but laugh at Ella's predicament.  
  
"You are so ridiculous. Didn't you check the weather before we left? I was wondering why you chose a long sleeve today, and a black one at that, but I decided not to question it. Guess I should have said something after all."  
  
"We're in Canada! It's suppose to be cold in Canada! And I did check the weather. Weather channel said 27 degrees Celsius annnnnnnd I didn't know what that meant. Sounded cold to me."  
  
"Oh Ella. 27 degrees Celsius is about 80 Fahrenheit, silly. Google could have told you that."  
  
"I was too lazy to look it up. Now I know. Ugh I can't take it anymore!" Ella says before taking off her long sleeve.  
  
Erin couldn't help but check out her girlfriend, now wearing only her neon green sports bra. "You would take any chance you can get to show off that body of yours," the keeper teases once she's snapped out of her trance, but not before subtly licking her lips.  
  
"Don't sound like you're not enjoying this view," Ella replies with in a sassy tone, gesturing at herself. "I saw you checking me out."  
  
"No comment," Erin says with a big grin. "So are we good to go now?"  
  
"Not quite." Ella walks towards the keeper and with one swift motion, takes the snap back off of Erin's head and puts it on her own. "There. Now we're good. Race you to the top!"  
  
Erin shakes her head at the forward with a smile before chasing after her. As much as she's slightly annoyed she has just lost her hat, she can't help but think the snap back looks better on Ella, though she would never admit that out loud to the forward.  
  
When Erin reaches the top, she spots Ella already standing near the edge, taking in the scenery of the mountains and Fitzsimmons Creek in the distance. Erin approaches the shorter forward from behind and slowly puts her arms around her waist, making sure not to startle her.  
  
"It's beautiful, ain't it?" Erin asks while giving her girlfriend a kiss on the cheek.  
  
Ella holds the keeper's hands with her own. "Most beautiful thing I've ever seen."  
  
"I've seen better."  
  
"And what's that?" Ella turning her head to look at the keeper.  
  
"You," Erin says with a big smile but making sure to look the forward in the eyes.  
  
Ella blushes. "Well aren't you just the biggest cheese ball ever." Ella turns around to face Erin and wraps her arms around the keeper's waist. She gives the keeper a kiss on the lips before resting her head in the crook of Erin's neck. "I love you."  
  
"I love you too, so much."  
  
They stay in this embrace for a little while longer, wrapped in each others arm enjoying the scenery in comfortable silence.  
  
Ella looks up at the keeper in confusion when she feels her pull away and sees her pulling out her phone.  
  
"I want to get a couple pictures of you with this beautiful scenery in the background. Stay standing here."  
  
Erin takes a couple steps back and looks for the right angle for her shot. After shifting back and fourth a couple times, she's satisfied. "Ready?"  
  
"Yep," Ella replies, giving her girlfriend the goofiest grin.  
  
Erin snaps several pictures with her phone, mostly of Ella making ridiculous faces but makes sure to get some of her with a proper smile.  
  
"Okay now look out towards the mountains. Let's get some instagram-worthy artsy pics."  
  
Ella can't help but laugh at her girlfriend. Although Erin is gifted with a paintbrush or a pencil and sketch book, the same cannot be said about her photography skills. Regardless, Ella decides to humour the keeper and complies, turning around completely to take in the view once more.  
      
Erin takes this time to set her backpack down and places her phone on top of it, making sure to hit the record button in video mode. She then pulls out the velvet box she kept hidden for the entire hike and kneels down on one knee behind Ella.  
  
When Ella doesn't hear the shutter of Erin's phone go off after a little while, she decides to turn around to check on her girlfriend. "What's taking you so lo-- ERIN KATRINA MCLEOD WHAT ARE YOU DOING?"  
  
Erin can't help but chuckle at Ella's reaction. She takes the forward's right hand with her left and takes a deep breath.  
  
"Ella, we've been together for a little over a year now, and the time we've spent together has been the happiest I've ever been my whole life. In this short time we've been together, you've learned to understand me better than I understand myself and I feel like I've known you my whole life. You know just what to say when I'm having an off day."  
  
"Ever since we first met, you've inspired me to be a better person each and every day. Your strength and courage on and off the field continue to amaze me. You're such a strong individual and I know you don't need anyone to take care of you, but nothing would make me happier than if you allowed me this honour for the rest of our lives."  
  
"You made me the happiest woman alive when you agreed to go on that first date with me. You made me the happiest woman alive when you agreed to be left off the Red Stars' protected list and go to Houston with me. You made me the happiest woman alive when you wore the Canadian kit in the stands of the Canada/USA friendly and you made me the happiest woman alive when you agreed to move to Vancouver with me during this off-season."  
  
Erin opens the velvet box with her right hand and holds it in front of her.  
  
"Ella Copple Masar, will you allow me to continue living as the world's happiest woman for the rest of our lives and marry me?"  
  
Ella has tears in her eyes. "Yes! A thousand times yes!"  
  
With the biggest smile on her face and tears of her own in her eyes, Erin stands up and places the ring on Ella's ring finger. The forward wraps her arms around the keeper and gives her the biggest kiss she can muster.  
  
"Nothing will make me happier than marrying you! All of those things you mentioned were the happiest moments of my life as well. Except maybe wearing the Canadian kit. That one may have hurt the American in me just a little," Ella tells Erin once they've pulled apart from their kiss and they're both giggling at Ella's last comment. Ella then turns to face the mountains once more.  
  
"I'M MARRYING ERIN MCLEOD!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I had no idea Ella's middle name is Copple until I wiki-ed it. Is this even correct?


	4. Ali/Ash - A Little Less Wisdom

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Inspired by a random Tumblr post and decided to run with it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Have some fluffy nonsense to balance out the incredible intense and angsty stories we're all reading right now :)

Ash was waiting in the waiting room of the oral surgeon's office. Ali had complained of pain in the right side of her mouth for a couple months and when she finally went to see her dentist, she was told that her impacted top and bottom wisdom teeth were the cause of her problem. The dentist had recommended that she got her wisdom teeth removed. She had finally found time to do the surgery a month after that. Ali was put under general anaesthetic, being the best option for the extraction of impacted wisdom teeth.  
  
Ash had alternated between checking social media, playing phone games and reading an e-book while she waited. After about an hour after Ali went into the surgery room, Ash saw the nurse approach her and gave her a smile.  
  
"Mrs. Harris?"  
  
"Yes ma'am."  
  
"Your wife is out of surgery and is now in the recovery room. The anaesthetic should be wearing off soon and she should be awake any minute now. You're free to go check on her now," the nurse informs Ashlyn.  
  
"Thank you, I would like that." The nurse leads Ash to Ali's room and gestures for Ash to step in. Before she leaves, she informs Ash that she will be back to give Ali one final check-up once she is awake and then she can bring her home.  
  
Ash smiles at her adorable wife lying on the bed as soon as she steps into her room. She's still out cold, with her mouth slightly opened and her right cheek is noticeably more swollen then the left. Ash makes her way to take the seat on the left of the bed and takes her wife's hand in her own as she waits for Ali to wake up.  
  
After couple more minutes, Ali begins to stir.  
  
  
  
"Hey beautiful, how are you feeling?" Ash asks Ali, once she's opened her eyes.  
  
"Ughhhhhhhhhhh" is the only sound Ali makes before she closes her eyes again and Ash can't help but chuckle at her wife. She decides to give the brunette a couple more minutes to fully wake up before asking her any questions.  
  
Ali fights the will to go back to sleep for several minutes, trying to open her eyes before closing them again. When she's finally awake, she rolls her head to the left and stares at the pretty blonde in front of her with a loopy smile.  
  
Ash looks back at her with a smile of her own. "Hey you."  
  
Ali doesn't reply but continues to stare at the woman in front of her. She takes her hand out of Ash's hold and reaches to try to touch the blonde's face.  
  
Ashlyn gets slightly concerned when Ali doesn't reply. "What is it?"  
  
"You're just...so fucking hottttttt. You might just be the hottest thing I've ever seen in my whole life," Ali says with a bit of a slur, but in complete amazement. The gauze and numbness in the right side of her mouth is making hard for her to enunciate her words.  
  
Ash is thoroughly amused by the effects the anaesthetic has on her wife.  "Why thank you, you're not too bad yourself."  
  
Ali runs her fingers tips along the blonde's cheeks before grabbing Ash's face, putting her fingers and thumb on either side of her cheeks. She turns Ash's head towards the left, then the right, examining it.  
  
"Yup. I've decided you're not real. It is not humanly possible for anyone to be this fucking hot."  
  
Ash tries hard to stifle a laugh. Apparently Ali has a bit of a trucker's mouth when she's loopy.  
  
Just then, Ali looks down at Ash's hands which are still placed at the edge of the bed.  
  
"Holy shit! Are you married?!"  
  
"I am. I've got a lovely wife." Ash lifts her left hand to show Ali her wedding band.  
  
Ali takes Ash's hand with her own and pulls it towards her face to get a better look. "Aw man! The hot ones are always taken."  
  
Ali then catches a glimpse of her own hand. "Holy shit! Am I married?"  
  
"You are. You also have a lovely wife," Ash replies with a wink.  
  
Ali drops Ash's hand and brings her own hand closer to her face to examine her wedding band. She then looks up and frowns as best she can through the gauze and her numb face.  
  
"She's probably not as hot as you though."  
  
Ash can't suppress a laugh anymore and laughs out loud.  
  
"Don't laugh at me!" Ali whines, smacking Ash on the arm.  
  
  
  
There's a knock on the door and they turn their attention to see the nurse walk in.  
  
"Look who's awake! How are you feeling?" the nurse asks Ali with a smile.  
  
"Good, but my face feels fat," Ali replies, patting her right cheek with her hand.  
  
"That's expected. You'll regain all the feeling in your cheek within the next few hours once the anaesthetic completely wears off. Do you taste any blood?"  
  
Ali focuses hard to try to check with her tongue and thinks for a second. "I don't think so."  
  
"That's good. Whenever you're ready, you're free to go home then," the nurse tells Ali before continuing, "I've gone through the recovery procedures with Mrs. Harris already and I've given her extra gauze in case you start to bleed again. Feel free to call the office if you have any questions and we will be seeing you next week for your follow-up appointment with the surgeon."  
  
Ali looks over at Ash before turning back to the nurse. She ponders deep in thought for a second. "You mean...I get to keep her?!" gesturing towards Ash.  
  
The nurse lets out a small laugh. "Yes, she's going home with you."  
  
Ali is visibly surprised. "Do you give out hot babes to all the patients?"  
  
"Nope, only you. You're special," the nurse replies with a wink, before making her way out the door.  
  
Ali turns her attention back to Ash, and gives her the best mischievous grin she can muster.  
  
"Your wife is not going to be happy about this!"


	5. Ali/Ash - #2 Keeper

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Inspired by Hope's incident/suspension.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know there are a lot of people out there with a lot of different opinions about this whole Hope incident. This is NOT the purpose of this one-shot. The purpose of this was to tell Ash's POV as a result of Hope's incident so mentions of the suspension are kept to a bare minimum and I left out as best I could any form of opinion on Hope's actions or her as a person.
> 
> As always, comments are always welcome!

It was the last week of camp and morale was at an all-time low for the US national team. It had been a couple days since the announcement of Hope Solo’s suspension and the players were trying as best they could to finish their training camp strong but concern for their friend and team mate was evident among the group.  
  
Ash and Ali were having a quiet night, resting in their room after dinner. Fortunately, the coaching staff had allowed them to room together since there weren’t any games scheduled during this camp. Ash was lying on her back, slightly propped up by the pillows against the headboard and Ali was cuddled into her side. Ali’s head was resting on her girlfriend’s chest, arm around Ash’s waist and Ash had her arm wrapped securely around Ali. They were enjoying each other’s company in a comfortable silence ever since getting back to the room.  
  
Ali knew there was a lot on the keeper’s mind. Ash was among the few who were affected directly as a result of Hope’s incident. Even though Ash didn’t let it affect her game during training, Ali couldn’t help but notice the shift in mood from the blonde outside of practice. Ali didn’t want to push Ash to talk though, knowing it would be best to wait for the keeper to open up to her when she was ready.  
  
“Alex,” Ash says after a while of silence.  
  
Ali turns in Ash’s embrace and looks up to her girlfriend but sees that Ash won’t make eye contact, looking off to the side of the bed instead. “What is it baby?”  
  
Ali sees the hesitation and gives Ash an encouraging squeeze where her hand is resting on the keeper's side. “You know you can tell me anything.”  
  
Ash glances over and sees the truth and sincerity in Ali’s eyes. She continues, but not before looking away again.    
  
“Will you still love me…even if I fail the team?”  
  
Under different circumstances, Ali would have laughed at her girlfriend’s ridiculous question but she can tell from Ash’s voice and body language that she is being completely serious.  
  
“Babe, you could do a lot worse than ‘fail the team’ and I would still love you,” Ali replies, using her hands to make air quotes. “Not that you ever have to worry about that. What makes you asks that?” She has a pretty good idea of what had sparked this question from Ash, but it was important for her hear it in Ash’s own words.  
  
“I’m scared.” Ash takes a deep breath before continuing.  
  
“All my life, all I’ve ever wanted was to be the #1 keeper. You know I’ve dreamed of it since I was a kid, but that’s all it’s ever been, a dream.  I’ve never been considered anything more than #2 to anyone and as much as I’ve worked hard every day to get closer to that #1 spot, I've come to terms fairly early on that I’ll only ever be #2.”  
  
“I guess somewhere along the way, that's become my safety blanket without even realizing it. As the #2 keeper no one relies on you for anything, you know? There’s no pressure, no expectations, and I got comfortable with the fact that I'll never get any significant minutes. I’m just here in case some freak accident happens to Hope, and we both know Hope never goes down. She's basically invincible. Who would have guessed that her inner demons would get the better of her, and so close to the Cup no less.”  
  
“We’re less than 6 months away and the possibility of me taking over as #1 keeper has never been as real as it is now. I might have to play some of the World Cup. I might have to play all of the World Cup!  What if I’m not good enough? What if we lose because of me? Or worse, what if I fuck up during one of the friendlies before then and don't even get a chance at the World Cup?”  
  
Ali rarely sees this vulnerable and insecure side of Ashlyn. During their club games with the Spirit, Ash was always a leader on the field, playing with the utmost confident and acting as the unofficial co-captain to lead the team. It was different with the national team though, the stakes were greater and the pressure was higher.  And when you’re only ever seen as the #2 keeper, Ali knew that took a toll on Ash’s confidence, even if she's hid it well until now.  
  
Ali moves out of Ash’s embrace and nudges for Ash to sit up. When she does so, Ali sits on Ash's lap, straddling her. She puts her arms around the keeper's neck and Ash instinctively wraps her arms around the defender's waist.  “Ash, look at me.”  
  
Ali waits for Ash to finally look her in the eye before she continues. “First off, never for a second think that you are not good enough. You are one of the best keepers I’ve ever had the privilege to play with and I wouldn’t want anyone else playing behind us. I’m not the only one who thinks that either. I know for a fact that no one on the team is worried about you stepping up to the job. Yes, everyone's been worried these past couple days, but they’ve been concerned for Hope’s well-being, not for our keeper situation."  
  
"Everyone is more than confident in your ability, don't ever doubt that. You may have to prove yourself to the fans and the critics, and maybe even the coaching staff, but you’ll never have to prove yourself to your teammates. You’ve already done that and at the end of the day, they're all that matters.”  
  
"Your lack of playing time in the past is not an accurate representation of the keeper I know you are. You know better than anyone there’s more that goes into that decision of who gets to play than just your ability.”  
  
“And you’re absolutely right; we don't know what's going to happen. We don’t know how much playing time you'll get come World Cup time. It could be some of the games, it could be all of the games, it could be none of the games.  We won’t know how this will play out until we get there and that’s something completely out of our control.”  
  
“But you’re doing everything right among the things that you can control, and that’s all that matters. You’re the hardest working player here, and that’s saying a lot among this group of girls. You just have to take it one game at a time. As long as you play like you do during our club games and during training like I know you can, you have nothing to worry about.”  
  
Ali seals her final words with a passionate kiss, trying to show the keeper just how much she meant every word she said with the gesture.  
  
Ashlyn was able to process everything Ali had said when they finally pulled apart and took everything she said to heart. She was not completely over her fear of letting the team down from just one talk, but she was thankful for the comforting words of her girlfriend and was feeling much better than she had been for the last couple of days. She pulled them back down to a lying position, causing Ali to squeal from the unexpected movement.  
  
Ash gives Ali a smile. “Thank you for that babe. You always know exactly what to say and what I need to hear. You’re the best girlfriend a girl could ever ask for and I don’t know what I’d ever do without you here.”  
  
Ali returned the smile with her own. “Ash, you’ve always been my rock. You don't understand how happy I was when you were finally getting regular call-ups to camp, not just because you were finally getting the recognition you deserved, but if I'm being completely honest, because I need you here. I don't even know how to explain it but I play better, sleep better and just overall feel better when we're together.”  
  
Ash smirks. "Those are probably just the positive side-effects of my...evening services."  
  
"Ashlyn Michelle Harris! Way to ruin the moment. I was being serious!" Ali playfully smacks her girlfriend's chest, but is simultaneously relieved to see the jokester side of Ashlyn come back.  
  
"Okay, okay, I'm sorry, but I couldn't help it." Ash flashes a guilty grin.  
  
Ali rolls her eyes. "I'll let it go this time, but only because you do provide excellent evening services." Ali sticks her tongue out at her girlfriend. "But seriously, it’s my turn to be your rock now in any way that I can. Can you promise me you’ll come to me right away whenever something’s bothering you? Big or small?  
  
“I promise and I will baby. Thank you for always being there for me, even if I ruin moments and tell bad jokes. I love you.”  
  
“I love you too, despite your bad jokes.”  
  
"Whatever. I know you love my bad jokes. You just won't admit it."  
  
Ash holds Ali in a tight hug as they enjoy the rest of the night, both feeling much lighter than they did at the beginning of the night. They didn’t know what the future had in store for them, but they felt much better know that whatever it was, they were going to tackle it together.


	6. Ella/Erin - Clean Sheet

The first Dash get-together of the season was in full swing and everybody was having a great time. Although the team was still missing their national team players, Ella decided to invite all the players who were in Houston over to her place to hang out, giving the returning players a chance to reconnect and the new players a chance to get to know the rest of the team. Ella had always believed that chemistry plays a big factor to any team’s success and wanted the team to start bonding off the field as early as possible.

In the mist of organizing this get-together, Ella had completely forgotten that her daily Skype phone call with her keeper was scheduled right in the middle of the get-together. While Erin was away for the Cyprus Cup, they had arranged to Skype each other every day before Erin went to bed, which was around the early afternoon for Ella.

The forward thought about just skipping her call with Erin. She knew Erin would have understood, especially once the forward explains why she missed the call, and it wasn’t completely uncommon for one of them to have to miss a call at the last minute from time to time. They each understood that sometimes life got in the way, something unexpected would come up and they wouldn’t be able to get to their computer in time for their scheduled Skype time. Ella also contemplated Skyping Erin in with the rest of the team, but she finally decided against both those options. 

As much she was enjoying spending time with the team, it was also a constant reminder that Erin wasn’t there with her, and she was missing her keeper a little more than usual. Because of that, Ella decided she was just going to take the call privately. She knew she had to keep the conversation short so she didn’t go missing from her own get-together for too long, but even just a short chat with the keeper would make her feel much better. Erin always had that effect on her when they were apart for extended periods at a time. Ella knew that even if the call ran a little long, she could count on Max to entertain the crowd while she was gone.

A couple minutes before their Skype session, Ella came up with a terrible reason to excuse herself from the group and made sure to grab her iPad before heading upstairs to her bedroom. Ella tried to be subtle with her movements but her actions hadn’t gone unnoticed by some of her teammates. Ella was so busy making her way upstairs she didn’t catch the exchange of mischievous looks and snickers by a couple of the girls.

Within a couple second of closing her bedroom door and plopping down on her bed, Ella’s iPad starting ringing and an instant grin comes across her face. 

“Hi baby!” Ella hears as soon as she answers the call.

“Hello my love!” Ella replies. "Babe, you can’t have your phone so close to your face. Your face is huuuuuuge,” Ella chuckles at her girlfriend. Somehow, Erin forgets how to use her phone every time they Skype, even though this has become a daily ritual. 

“But I want to get a closer look at your petty face!” Erin answers with a pout.

“You’re such a dork.”

“But you love me anyway.”

Ella taps her chin with one finger and pretends to contemplate that thought.

“Babeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.”

“Ok fine, I love you even though you’re a complete dork.”

Ella sees Erin grinning like a fool and takes a screen cap of her iPad. She has every intention of sharing her ridiculously adorable girlfriend with the rest of the world.

“Ha! I knew it. I love you too and I miss you so much! So what are you up to today?” Erin asks the forward.

“I miss you too! I have the team over at our place for a little get-together today. It’s been a lot of fun getting to know some of the new girls.”

“That’s awesome! It’s so important to welcome the newbies to our Dash family.” Erin pauses before the realization hits her, “Wait, you mean you have the girls over right now? What are you doing Skyping me for? You should be hanging out with them right now!”

“I know, but I just miss you so much! We’ll just have to keep this call quick.” It was now Ella’s turn to pout.

“Okay fine. I'll admit I would have been a little sad if you had missed the call today anyway,” Erin replies, and Ella smiles at that.

Ella looks up when she hears a bit of commotion on the other side of her bedroom door before turning her attention back to Erin.

“Is that who I think it is?” the keeper asks through the screen.

“Probably, those two are always up to no good,” Ella replies with a smile while shaking her head.

 

_“HEY BABY I LOOOOOOOOVE YOU.”_

_“I LOOOOOVE YOU TOO BABEEEEEEEEE. *MUAH*MUAH*MUAH*MUAH*”_

 

Ella hears the keeper chuckle and turns her attention back to her iPad. “Babe! Stop laughing! I don’t know how I’m going to handle these kids while you're gone this year.”

“Awww it’ll be okay, it’ll just be good practice for when we have a couple little ones of our own,” Erin replies with a wink.

Ella smiles at the thought. “You’re right, as always. I’ll just have to try out different discipline techniques.”

After a brief pause in the conversation, Ella suddenly remembers one of the reasons she was so excited to Skype her girlfriend. “I almost forgot to congratulate you on your second clean sheet of the tournament! I’m so proud of you babe! Lots of kisses for you when you get back.”

“Thanks babe! It wa-”

 

_“HEY BABE, DO YOU KNOW HOW I’M GOING TO REWARD YOU FOR YOUR CLEAN SHEETS?”_

_“NO BABY, HOW ARE YOU GOING TO DO THAT?”_

_“WELLLL BABE, WE’RE GOING TO MAKE SOME VERY UNCLEAN SHEETS...”_

 

Ella runs across the room and yanks the door open before she could hear the end of comment. As soon as she opens the door, she hears Steph and Bianca scream at the top of their lungs before bolting in the opposite direction back down the stairs. 

“Runnnnnnn! Mommy’s mad!”

Ella takes off after her two mischievous teammates. “You kids are in sooooooo much trouble! You’re both grounded!”

 

“Ella?...Baby?...El?” Erin asks through their Skype conversation, but she knew it was a lost cause now that she was looking at the blank ceiling on her screen. A small smile creeps on her face as she hangs up the call. Even though her focus was on the World Cup this year, Erin couldn’t wait to reunite with her Dash family every chance she got and she knows it will be a good season with her kids this year.


	7. Grace/Jonesy - Worth It

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I haven't seen it done yet, so I'm giving it a shot writing these two. Let me know what you think.
> 
> If y'all aren't following Chantel Jones and Grace Gill, you should. They are probably the cutest couple in woso.

Chantel could tell her girlfriend was a ball of nerves throughout the whole car ride. She couldn’t have been more excited for their dinner plans, but the feeling was not reciprocated by the Aussie.

Grace was visiting America for the first time to see Chantel between the end of the W-Leauge season and the start of the NWSL season. The keeper had planned out the entire trip to bring her girlfriend to all the must-see locations on the east coast. The trip consisted of all the big tourist attractions, but also places that were important to the keeper at various stages of her life. The keeper had arranged to introduce Grace to the many people that were important to her while her girlfriend was stateside and tonight, they had dinner plans with two people that were pretty high up on the list.

As she was driving, Chantel saw out of the corner of her eye that Grace was fidgeting than usual. The keeper reaches over the center console and grabs Grace’s hand to try to calm her nerves.

“Sweetie, I’ve never seen you this nervous before,” Chantel looks over at her girlfriend and kisses her hand before resting them back on her lap.

“I’m sorry. I'm just scared I won't make a good impression. I know how much they mean to you,” Grace replies shyly.

Chantel gives her girlfriend’s hand a gentle squeeze as she turns onto the driveway. “Hey, you have nothing to worry about. Everyone you’ve met so far has just adored you. Just be yourself and I guarantee they will absolutely love you.”

Grace turns in her seat to face her girlfriend with a smile. “Thanks babe. You always know exactly what to say.”

Chantel returns the smile with one of her own. “It comes easy with you. So are you ready to do this?”

“Yep. As ready as I’ll ever be.”

“I love you.”

“I love you too.”

Chantel leans over and gives Grace a quick kiss before the two exits the car and heads towards the front door of the house, hand in hand.

\---

“Babeeeeeeee. Can you take the chicken out of the oven and bring it out to the table?”

“Got itttttttttttttttttt.”

Ali was busy setting the dining room table when she hears the oven timer go off. They already had Ash’s famous mac and cheese on the table and all that was left was the roasted chicken and vegetables that was finishing up in the oven.

As soon as Ash enters the dining room and sets the chicken down, Ali wraps her arms around her girlfriend from behind and gives her a kiss on the cheek.

“Thanks babe. Are you excited to meet Grace?”

Ash turns so that she’s facing the defender in her embrace and wraps her arm around Ali’s shoulder. “I am. I’m looking forward to meeting the girl who’s stolen our little keeper’s heart. I'm going to have to grill her though, make sure she has good intentions.”

“Ash! I love that you go all protective mama bear on our girls, but don’t scare the poor girl away,” Ali says while playfully slapping Ash on the chest.

“Okay, okay fine, I’ll play nice.”

“They’re here!” Ali exclaims when she hears the doorbell. She escapes from Ash’s embrace and rushes to answer the door.

“Jonsey!” Ali practically yells in excitement as soon as she opens the door.

“Hey boo! You’re looking gorgeous as always. I’ve missed you!” Chantel says while stepping forward to give Ali a tight hug.

“Oh hunny, I’ve missed you too!” Ali responded, hugging back just as tightly.

“Now now, it’s one thing putting the moves on my girlfriend while I’m standing right here, but to do it in front of your own girl? C’mon Jonesy, I've taught you to be smoother than that,” Ash says with an amused tone while standing behind her girlfriend.

“You’re just jealous I’ve got a super awesome girl who's cool with that,” Chantel turns and sticks her tongue out at Ash before giving her the biggest bro hug.

Ali couldn’t contain her excitement as the two keepers hugged it out. “Jonesy! Introduce us to this pretty lady of yours!”

Grace had been standing behind her girlfriend, quietly watching the reunion in amusement. She knew her keeper had developed a special bond with the two other Spirit players over the two seasons they played together.

Chantel takes a step back to stand next to her girlfriend. “Ali, Ash, I want to introduce you to my amazing girlfriend, Grace.”

“It’s so good to finally meet the girl who’s stolen our little Jonesy’s heart!” Ali says while stepping forward to give the Aussie a hug.

“It’s so good to finally meet you as well. I’ve heard so much about the both of you. And now I know where Jonesy’s practiced all her moves before she pulled on me,” Grace responds with a chuckle. Ali steps back so Ash can give Grace a hug as well.

“I like this one already!” Ash says as they pull apart.

“Let’s go eat! Dinner’s already on the table,” Ali exclaims as she guides everyone towards the dining room.

 

The two couples dive right into their meals. Conversation comes easy between the four of them, Chantel and Grace talk about their season with Canberra United and living in Australia while Ash and Ali fill Grace in on their past two Spirit seasons. Ash and Ali make sure to throw in a couple embarrassing stories they have of Chantel.

“And this one time, I was walking through the hallway of a hotel we were staying at during an away game and I see Jonesy hiding right before the turn of a corner. She was waiting to scare someone, probably Toni or something. She trying sooooo hard to contain her giggles while she was waiting. She's quite bad at scaring people but for whatever reason, she was determined to keep trying until she got someone good.”

“Anyway, she had no idea I was walking behind her, so I creep up right next to her and yell right into her ear. I had never heard her scream so loud before and she immediately falls to the ground. Meanwhile, Toni gets to the corner of the hallway and witnesses the whole thing. The two of us are dying of laughter and Jonesy was still in shock on the ground. Needless to say, Toni and I had to watch our backs the following week.”

Chantel gives Ash a playful glare as Ash finishes telling her story coupled with some very animated gestures, but she knew it was all in good fun.

 

Throughout the dinner, Ash internally smiles to herself when she catches the look in Grace’s eyes whenever she steals a glance of Chantel. It's a look she knows all too well, the one she gave Ali when they first started dating all those years ago, and the one continues to give her now. Ash could tell Chantel’s found the one just by the look in Grace's eyes and couldn’t have been happier for her fellow keeper.

They finish off dinner with some ice cream for dessert. Once they were done with their ice cream, Ash and Grace continued chatting in the dining room while Chantel helped Ali clean up in the kitchen.

“I had plans grill you tonight on your intentions with Jonesy. It’s become somewhat of a tradition I’ve done with all the girls’ new boyfriends and girlfriends and I think I’ve even scared a couple of the guys away," Ash says with a chuckle, proud of herself for her accomplishments. "But I can tell from the moment we met just how muchthe two of you are in love.”

Grace blushes and instantly became a little shy. “I really do love her. Sometimes it surprises me just how much I do. She caught me off guard, I never thought I’d be one to date a teammate but I was instantly drawn to her when we first met and we’ve become inseparable ever since. She’s such an amazing person and I find myself falling harder for her every day.”

Ash smiles at the Aussie’s confession. “I’m glad Jonesy’s found someone that can show her so much love and that we got to meet you during your trip here. She deserves nothing but the best and I’m so happy she’s found that with you.”

Grace returns the smile at that compliment. “I’m really glad our schedules lined up and we were able to catch you guys while you were in town too. Don’t tell Chantel I told you this, but I know she really looks up to the two of you and it’s so great to meet two people who's had such a positive influence on her life, both on and off the field.”

“I don’t know if I can keep that promise and not tease her about that.” Ash jokes with a mischievous grin.

 

“So you really love her, huh?” Ali asks Chantel after loading the dish washer.

“I do, she’s absolutely perfect,” Chantel gushes about her girlfriend.

“She’s a really great girl. I really like her and she seems just perfect for you.”

“She really is. It means a lot to me that you guys like her so much. Ever since I've gotten to know the two of you, I’ve always wanted what you and Ash have and I think I’ve finally found that with Grace.”

Ali could see the love radiating off of Chantel as she talks about her girlfriend. "You two definitely remind me of Ash and I when we first started dating. You look at each other with the same love-sick puppy dog eyes. So when is she heading back?”

“In a week and a little bit. I’m really not looking forward to when that day comes, but we’re going to make the most her trip while she’s here,” Chantel replies with a hint of sadness.

Ali knows exactly how the keeper feels. “I know just how hard a long distance relationship can be, but I also know that it’ll all be worth it for the right person. Once you've made it through the long distance, you'll be able to make it through anything.”

Chantel smiles, remembering the stories Ash and Ali have told her when they were dating long distance and seeing them now on the other end of it.

“We’ll make it work, I know we will. She’s worth it.”


End file.
